The Fall
by Mafalda
Summary: Mike falls down the stairs; Harvey shows that he cares. H/C fluff.
1. Chapter 1

This was written in response to the following prompt made by phreakycat on the suitsmeme: "I'm going to keep this simple - can I have Mike falling down some stairs? Like, maybe he's mid-sentence bantering with Harvey and just - BAM - EPIC FAIL. I mean limbs pinwheeling, ass-over-teakettle, undignified and girly shriek of terror, FALLIN' DOWN SOME DAMN STAIRS." I hope you enjoy it!

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"Harvey!"

Harvey, who was impatiently waiting by the elevator doors, turned at the shout and glared at his approaching associate.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we?" he asked, motioning for Mike to hand over the documents he was clutching.

Mike gave him the thick folder and bent over to catch his breath. He had been frantically working all morning and during his lunch break to assemble the agreement draft. "I'm sorry, I had to look through more paperwork that I expected and the files they sent over were so damn dense. And then Louis asked me to –" he stopped talking when Harvey gestured with a single finger for him to shut up without looking up from the documentation he was skimming through. After a few moments that made Mike fidget and scratch the back of his neck, he closed the folder with an audible snap and glared up at his associate.

"I don't care. This should've have been ready hours ago. The meeting starts in twenty minutes," he paused and looked up and down Mike's disheveled and sweaty appearance, frowning even more at what he saw. "And what have I told about looking presentable? Do you expect me to bring you with me looking like that?"

Mike tried to fix his loosened tie guiltily before meeting Harvey's glare. It was true he looked somewhat untidy and he'd forgotten to put on his jacket before rushing over but there was no need for the disgusted tone Harvey was using on him. "I was up all night finishing up on the Bennet-Smith case and you only told me this morning that I was supposed to have the Fisher corporations draft finished by this afternoon. It's not my faul -" he interrupted himself when Harvey swore at the elevator's closed doors, abruptly turned and started walking away from him.

"Harvey, wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm taking the stairs. Apparently the elevators haven't been fixed yet," Harvey replied curtly without looking back at Mike.

Mike knew very well the elevators weren't working. Just an hour ago when a smug Louis Litt had ordered him to fetch his lunch (Mike wasn't quite comfortable enough on Pearson-Hardman to refuse the man) he had to climb up and down all those stairs. So yes, there were sweat stains on his shirt and he had taken off his jacket. And his hair was probably messier than usual. Still, nothing that couldn't improve with a quick stop at the restroom. He could go to this meeting if Harvey just stopped and listened to him. Harvey wasn't stopping though. His boss was going down those stairs pretty quickly, actually.

"Please, be reasonable. I can help. I'll tell you all about the changes that Mr. Fisher wanted on the agreement on the way over. With Ray driving we'll get there in ten minutes," Mike appealed, trying to keep up with the other man.

"No. I waited thirty minutes more than the deadline I gave you for this," Harvey angrily waved the folder at Mike, not even slowing down, "and by then I was ready to leave without it and without you. That's what I'm going to do. And I don't need your help," he spared a cold glance at the other man and continued down the stairs.

Mike, frustrated and tired, hating the cold treatment he was getting from Harvey and feeling hurt, stopped in the middle of the flight of stairs. "Harvey, I'm sorry. I'm trying my best," he pleaded, letting some of the hurt and uncertainty he was feeling show in his tone.

The other man finally stopped and turned back to his associate. In reality, Mike wasn't exactly the cause of Harvey's anger. The obnoxious and pain-in-the-ass CEO of Fisher's industries was the cause. The man had occupied Harvey's time for more than two weeks now with irrelevant and time consuming requests that lead to nothing and only delayed the merger. And mergers were so utterly boring. The constant meetings Fisher had demanded in the last few days were just ridiculous and unnecessary. So Harvey was not looking forward to spending more time listening to Robert Fisher. He knew it was unfair the way he was unloading his anger on Mike and later he would probably regret it, but at the moment, Mike's apologetic attitude was leaving him even more irritated. He wanted someone to snap back at him. The kid had been working for him for a month, it was time to show some back bone.

"I don't want your apologies. I just want you to do your job. And this conversation is over, I'm already late as it is," he replied briskly. Harvey turned around, dismissing Mike. "Go back to your cubicle."

Mike knew he should be used by now to his boss' occasional sharp remarks but it still stung. He'd worked hard on that draft. Dejected, he resigned himself to turn back when he noticed a few sheets of paper on the floor that had gotten loose from the folder. He so didn't want to be blamed for the missing pages too.

"Harvey, wait!"

Harvey was already a bit ahead so he rushed down the flight of stairs to catch up with him. Or he intended to. At the first step down he somehow stumbled over his own feet and went tumbling down the stairs instead.

Harvey stopped when he heard a yelp and a few strange thumps. He went back up the stairs suspecting that he had just listened to his associate falling down the stairs. Could he really be that clumsy? That kid was unbelievable. When he reached Mike though, the kid was sprawled awkwardly on his left side, not moving and Harvey felt a sharp spike of panic go through him. He kneeled down next to his moaning associated who was starting to turning around to lie on his back and put steady hands on his shoulders, helping the movement.

"Mike. Are you okay?" Harvey asked, urgently. He glanced down Mike's body and saw that he was cradling his left shoulder against his chest. There was a cut at this bottom lip that was bleeding slowly and the left side of his face was red and scraped. Harvey suspected it'd become an ugly shade of blue later. Mike was hissing and disorientated. Harvey let go of his shoulders and cupped his face in his hands, mindful of the bruised left side. He looked at Mike and tried to catch his eyes. "Are you okay?" he repeated. When Mike finally met his eyes, he continued, "Where does it hurt, kid?"

Mike was still reeling from his fall. One moment he was coming down the stairs and the other he was lying on his side, and everything _hurt_. His left shoulder in particular was killing him. "My shoulder –" he gasped, meeting Harvey's eyes. He couldn't even feel triumphant for the concern he saw there. He was hurting too much for that. "It feels - wrong."

Harvey probed very gently at Mike's left shoulder. Mike let out a loud groan that he tried to cover immediately but Harvey knew what a dislocated shoulder felt like. "Sorry, kid." He was still cradling Mike's face with one and he brushed his thumb over his cheek as an apology. "Where else? Are your legs okay? What about your ribs?"

Mike nodded. His left side was very sore, he must have landed particularly badly on it but he could move his legs and feet without major pain. His ribs felt normal, too.

"And your head?" Harvey asked, still looking at Mike intently. He ran a gentle hand through Mike's hair, looking for any bumps or any signs of sharp pain from his associate. Mike, who was starting to come to his senses found it soothing.

When Mike didn't react badly to his probing, Harvey allowed himself to calm down. He straightened up and rested a casual hand on Mike's uninjured shoulder. "Okay, this is what we're going to do, rookie. We're going to get down to the bottom of these stairs and Ray is going to drive us to the hospital to see to your shoulder. Alright?" He cocked his head at Mike and that smirk Mike knew so well appeared at the corner of his lips. "I can't believe you fell down a flight of stairs. Only you, kid. And of course you're going to make me miss the meeting," he rolled his eyes at Mike, smirk firmly in place. The slight squeeze of Mike's shoulder made him think Harvey wasn't very upset at missing the meeting.

Mike on the other hand, just smiled at Harvey. The amount of _caring_ his boss had just demonstrated was staggering. He was going to use this for months.

"Unbelievable," Harvey shook his head at the almost maniacal smile his associate was giving him. "Come on, get up." He put Mike's right arm around his shoulders and steadied him as they slowly got up together. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Mike replied, unable to stop staring at Harvey. He liked this version of his boss. He liked it a lot.

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Slowly and with a lot of hissing from Mike's part, Harvey was able to get them both to the bottom floor and outside where Ray was waiting by the company car. He looked startled when he saw Mike leaning on Harvey for support.

"What happened?" Ray asked, rushing over to help Harvey get Mike in the car.

"Hey Ray. I had a little accident on the stairs," Mike answered, sheepishly.

Harvey rolled his eyes heavenward. After making sure Mike was settled, he closed the door to get in on the other side. "Drive us to the nearest hospital, will you Ray? The idiot managed to fall down the stairs and dislocate his shoulder."

"Poor kid," Ray commented. He got in the driver's seat and tried to drive as smoothly as possible.

On the backseat, Mike was sweating slightly and clenching his jaw at the pain in his shoulder. It seemed to be getting worse. He looked at Harvey who was fiddling with his phone. Harvey glanced over before turning his attention to the person he was calling. Mike closed his eyes and rested his head against the head rest, listening to Harvey postpone the meeting they were supposed to be going to. The call ended and the rest of the ride to the hospital was made in silence.

"We're here," Ray told them when the car stopped.

Mike was opening the car door when Harvey's "Wait" made him hesitate. Harvey got out first and went around, opening Mike's door and reaching out to lead him out. Mike only wished he wasn't feeling awful so he could fully appreciate the way his boss was handling him.

"I need to call Donna," Harvey muttered to himself as they made their way to the ER entrance. He had noticed how quiet Mike had become and didn't like it.

The two made their way inside where Harvey sat Mike in one of the waiting chairs and headed to the registration desk. He quickly explained the situation and after being assured Mike would be attended to as soon as possible, Harvey came back to Mike's hunched form with some paperwork to fill. He was completing the insurance form when the silence started to unnerve him.

"How you doing, rookie?" Harvey asked while skimming through the rest of the papers he was given.

"Fine," Mike answered through clenched teeth.

"Uh huh," Harvey decided to not comment on the lie. "Are you allergic to any meds?"

"I – I don't think so."

Harvey, in a magnanimous gesture, did not roll his eyes.

"When was your last tetanus shot?"

"Um. At the appropriate time to get a tetanus shot?"

"Right."

Harvey gave up on finishing the rest of the questionnaire. He turned to Mike and noticed the bruise that was starting to show at his temple and cheek.

"You really did a number on yourself, kid," Harvey said.

"Michael Ross?"

Both looked up at the nurse calling, Mike with a lot more reluctance. Harvey stood up and looked at him expectantly when Mike made no move to rise. Mike just looked back at him, a little fear showing on his eyes. His shoulder hurt so much when he dislocated it. Putting it back sounded like something that would hurt too. And he had had enough pain for the day, thank you very much.

"Are you kidding me, rookie? Up, up," Harvey said. The gentle grip on Mike's elbow took the sting out of his words. "The sooner you go the sooner you get fixed and we can get out of here."

Harvey delivered Mike to the nurse who smiled kindly at the scared associate and told Harvey she'd keep him informed.

Harvey sat down and hoped it wouldn't take long. He took the time to call Donna who rescheduled all his meetings for the day and warned him to be nice to Mike. After a while, when Harvey was starting to get anxious, the nurse from before informed him Mike was ready to leave and asked him if he wanted to talk to Mike's doctor. Harvey said yes and she led him to the room Mike was occupying. Mike was sitting on the bed in his undershirt, his left arm in a sling. He was staring blearily ahead while a doctor was putting a small adhesive bandage on the inside of his arm. When finished he turned to Harvey and shook his hand.

"Mr. Specter? I'm Dr. Turner, Michael told me you accompanied him. We reset his shoulder with no complications. He'll have to schedule an appointment with an orthopedic doctor for a follow-up examination within a few days."

Harvey nodded and couldn't help but notice that Mike's eyes kept slipping closed.

"He'll need to wear the sling for a few weeks. I'll give you the prescription for the pain relievers."

The doctor turned to Mike after handing Harvey the prescription. He was a tall, thin man in his late forties, if Harvey had to guess, with light brown hair and brown eyes. Harvey liked that the doctor waited until Mike had focused on him to speak.

"Plenty of rest for the next couple of days, alright Michael?" The doctor patted Mike's good shoulder and adjusted his sling. "Also, ice your shoulder - it'll help with the swelling."

"…yes," Mike mumbled.

"He's still under the effects of the sedative and pain medication so he'll be groggy for a while. He needs to go home and sleep," the doctor told Harvey. He turned to Mike, "Do you have someone to stay with you, Michael?"

"Uh, I'll be fine alo -"

"Yeah," Harvey interrupted. "He'll stay with me."

"Great, that's it then." The doctor shook Harvey's hand and Mike's free hand and left the room.

"Harvey, you don't need to, I'll be fine on my own," Mike murmured. There was a pronounced slur to his words and he was having trouble putting his suit jacket over his shoulders.

"Shut up, Mike," Harvey said, helping him get his right arm through the jacket sleeve. The left side of the jacket was all torn up. "Where's your shirt?"

"I - I don't know,"

"You're even more useless than usual," Harvey quipped. "No great loss, anyway. You ready to go?"

"Yes."

Mike swayed when he took the first steps but Harvey's hand at his elbow helped him along and soon they reached Ray's car.

"All good then?" Ray asked Mike.

Mike took a few seconds to focus on Ray and when he did he smiled dopily at him.

"Oh, h-hey Ray. You're here." He sounded intrigued by the fact.

Harvey exchanged looks with Ray.

"I know it's difficult to tell but he's high on pain meds," Harvey said as he guided Mike into the car. "Please stop at a pharmacy on the way to my condo, Ray."

"Sure thing, boss."

Harvey let out a discreet sigh of relief when he sat down. Mike was fixed and no longer in pain. Problem solved. He looked at the puppy in question that was wriggling his fingers and staring at them with half-closed eyes.

"You're not really sure of what's going on, are you kid?"

Mike turned to him and blinked heavily. "Yes," he answered after deliberating for a while. "Everything is – muffled. And – floaty."

He suddenly grew paler, brought his hand to his mouth and bent over as much as the sling allowed.

"Whoa! You're not going to be sick, are you?" Harvey looked ready to tell Ray to stop. "Please don't throw up in the car," he said fervently, resting a cool hand on Mike's neck.

Mike seemed to heed his plea and after a few tense moments he straightened up slowly, not looking as pale.

"Thank you," Harvey said, sounding relieved.

Mike just leaned back, dislodging Harvey's hand. When he began sliding down the seat towards his good side which was, coincidently, the side where Harvey was sitting, the older man tried to stop him but didn't want to cause any pain so he just ended up flailing uselessly.

"Mike –"

Mike was now sliding down _him._ Until there was a blonde head in his lap.

"This – this is better," Mike murmured. He sighed happily and actually nuzzled into Harvey's leg before seeming to settle.

Harvey just looked straight ahead and refused to acknowledge Ray's smirking eyes in the mirror.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! I'm going to go answer them now :)

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Harvey was willing to put up with the blond head occupying his lap if it meant a quiet ride and no more almost-vomiting incidents. Mike for his part, was lying there pretty quietly, only mumbling some unperceivable words to himself every once in a while. When Ray stopped at the pharmacy near his apartment, Harvey looked down, frowning half-heartedly at the back of Mike's head.

"I'll be right back," he said as he lifted the blonde head out of his lap and set it on the seat.

Mike made a disgruntled noise but didn't move from where Harvey had settled him.

It didn't take long for Harvey to return with the medicine. When he did, Mike was sitting up, hair scruffier than usual and eyes still sleepy. Harvey refused to allow himself to find it endearing. And the sight of Mike's bruised face did _not_ trouble him, not at all. Harvey scowled at the younger man, annoyed at Mike for making him feel something he tried to avoid. Mike just continued to stare blearily at him.

Harvey decided to have a little fun.

"Mike! What the hell are you doing here? Didn't I tell you I wanted the Fisher's agreement draft done by this afternoon?"

Mike's eyes widened and he froze at Harvey's sharp tone.

"Well? Where is it?"

"…the agreement draft?"

That seemed to startle Mike and he looked down at his hands helplessly. He then started looking all around him, even rising up awkwardly to check under his butt. Harvey couldn't stop himself from smirking at that. The draft was indeed in the car, resting on Harvey's briefcase by his feet. When Mike's search proved fruitless, he turned to Harvey. Blindsided was probably the best word to describe him. Harvey raised an eyebrow.

"I - I must have left it with Donna."

And then Mike went to open the car door. The moving car door. Harvey wasn't sure where he thought he was going; probably to go find Donna.

"Wait, wait, rookie. I'll let it pass this time."

Mike gave up on the idea of leaving, to Harvey's relief, and gave him a wide, doped up smile. His boss was so kind, Mike thought. He settled back on the seat, relieved. They were almost arriving at Harvey's apartment when Mike straightened and glowered at Harvey.

"You were making fun of me!"

"Oh, you noticed? How very astute of you."

A petulant huff was Mike's answer to that.

Now seemingly more aware, Mike noticed they were driving through a rich neighborhood he didn't recognize but knew it was located nowhere near his apartment building.

"This isn't the way to my apartment," Mike said, after staring outside for a while to make sure.

"Only if you moved from that hovel you call an apartment and forgot to tell me."

At the wounded look from Mike, Harvey relented.

"We're going to my place. Someone has to make sure you don't kill yourself going up the stairs. Fortunately, my place has an elevator."

"…oh," Mike said after running through the explanation.

Nothing more was said until they arrived. Mike looked outside the window at Harvey's modern building. He was trying to make sense of the situation but there seemed to be a fog around his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes wearily.

"Ugh. Whatever they gave me at the hospital turned me into a moron."

"Don't worry. I can hardly tell the difference," Harvey said, sounding very earnest.

Mike glared at him from between his fingers.

"Alright, let's go," Harvey said. He paused before exiting the car, eyeing Mike's exit critically. He got out okay though, only wobbling slightly when standing up.

Mike closed the car door and took a deep breath to clear his head. It seemed to help. Only he couldn't shake the exhaustion that was plaguing him since he left the hospital. Harvey, in the meantime, had come around the car and was leaning over the front passenger's window to talk to Ray.

"Are you sure you won't need me for the rest of the day, boss?" Mike heard Ray say.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, Ray."

Before Mike could process that little exchange, Harvey took him by the elbow and led him to the apartment building's entrance.

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Harvey decided to take the normal elevator; he was pretty sure Mike wasn't feeling nauseated anymore but he didn't want to risk having puke all over the floor of his pristine glass elevator. To his relief, the elevator ride went fine and soon Harvey was opening the door to his apartment.

Mike followed Harvey inside but stopped pretty soon after, looking around him with an awed look on his face.

"_Wow_."

"So glad it meets your unattainable standards."

Mike ignored the sarcasm and continued to take a good look around. Harvey let him be and strolled to his bedroom to change into something more comfortable. He'd decided he wasn't going back to the office for the rest of the day. His associate had ruined his work day and he felt he should feel more irritated at this fact than he really was. He had certainly been irritated at the kid before he fell down the stairs.

When he came back down to the living room, Mike was looking out one of the glass walls, his nose almost touching the glass.

"Please refrain from leaving smudges all over my walls, kid."

"This place is _amazing_, Harvey," Mike said, not looking away from the view of the city.

"Just come sit here for a moment, will you?" Harvey led him to the couch and after Mike sat down, he walked to the kitchen.

He returned to Mike's side with a glass of water and a couple of pills. Mike was no longer sitting but lying down awkwardly on his good side, his feet still resting on the floor. His eyes were closed.

"Sit up, Mike," Harvey said, nudging him upright. "You need to take these."

Mike accepted the glass of water and obediently swallowed the pills. He handed back the empty glass to Harvey and slouched back on the couch. Harvey eyed him, still standing in front of him.

"So. What do you want to do? The doctor said rest; do you want to watch some tv?" Harvey motioned to the large dvd collection next to the television, behind them. "You can pick a dvd if you want."

"Can I- can I take a nap?" Mike asked hopefully. He'd closed his eyes again, not waiting for an answer.

Harvey set down the glass of water on the side table and grabbed Mike's arm, urging him to stand. He ignored Mike's puppy eyes and rolled his eyes at him.

"If you want to sleep, you're going to do it in a bed."

He steered a sleepy Mike to his guest bedroom and left him standing by the bed while he went to close the glass wall curtains. When he glanced back at Mike, he found him in the same spot, staring at everything around him again. Harvey told himself to be patient and went back to Mike, snapping his fingers at him to get his attention.

"Hey. Take off your shoes and pants and get into bed," Harvey instructed while helping him undress his jacket.

He left him to undress the rest alone and went to fetch some ice, remembering the doctor's instructions. When he came back, he was relieved to see Mike had followed his orders. The trousers were hanging off the bed and the shoes were haphazardly splayed on the floor but Harvey decided to be benevolent and ignore it. He was not glad to see though, that Mike appeared to have fallen on his side on top of the covers, just like he'd done on the couch, and was on his way to sleep, if he wasn't there already.

"You're useless like this, kid. You need a minder, full time," he muttered while nudging Mike awake. "Come on, get under the covers."

Mike allowed himself to be manhandled but when he focused on Harvey leaning over him, he suddenly sat up and put his good arm around him, burying his face on Harvey's neck.

"Thank you, Harvey," he said against Harvey's collar. Mike may not have been aware of all that happened in the last few hours but he knew Harvey had been there by his side. _Caring_ for him.

"…and you're hugging me."

Harvey patted Mike's back, resigning himself to be hugged to Mike's satisfaction. It was easier to wait it out, really. Only that was taking a long time and from the slow deep breaths Harvey could feel against his neck, he realized Mike had fallen asleep.

"Wonderful."

Harvey disentangled his sleeping associate and laid him on his back, putting a couple of pillows under his left arm to support it. He sat down on the bed, picked up the ice bag and held it to Mike's shoulder, taking the moment to study an unaware Mike. The kid was completely out now, his deep sleep helped by the remains of the medication, no doubt. Just like the previous times he'd noticed, the ugly bruise on the side of Mike's face unsettled Harvey. This made him uneasy; how much this whole situation had affected him. He stood up abruptly and after another long scrutinizing look at the sleeping younger man, Harvey left the bedroom. He needed a drink.


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